A technical recession is when an economy suffers negative economic performance for two consecutive quarters. It means that there is a decline in economic growth.

This spells bad news for a country already struggling with high levels of unemployment.

A third consecutive economic contraction means the country is in a full-blown recession.

Contributing factors

Stats SA says the economic decline is due to a drop in agriculture, government and the manufacturing industries.

Mining, construction and the electricity industries recorded positive growth during the same period.

“The largest negative contributor to growth in GDP in the second quarter was the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, which decreased by 29.2% and contributed -0.8 of a percentage point to GDP growth,” Stats SA says in a statement.